It’s been a long, long, long time since Earls topped the Bow Valley Soccer League.
For years, the perennial underdog has played second best to the likes of Sushi House and Canmore United.
But after defeating Sushi House for the second time this season on Sunday (Aug. 3), Earls is now the best team in the league, with more than half of the season behind them.
A deep and disciplined Earls side defeated the depleted Sushi House 3-2. Peter Williams scored twice for Earls, including a rocket off his right foot from 40 feet out.
“That was a big game. It could determine the league at the end of the season,” said captain Brad Pace.
Greater depth, dedication and skill are the biggest differences with the club this season, Pace said, as new additions have made the club stronger than ever.
“We have a lot of good players on the team this year. Everyone is coming out for every game. We have strong subs – everyone can play,” Pace said.
With the memory of their last loss to Earls still fresh in their mind, Sushi House struck early, keen to set up an early lead before implementing their suffocating defensive style.
Sushi House defender Jamie McCulloch unluckily scored an own goal to bring Earls to life, but rebounded quickly with a proper shot of his own to make it 2-1.
Earls began to press, and Williams finally broke through with his rocket shot to tie the game at two. In the dying minutes of the first half, Williams struck again to give Earls their first lead of the game.
Armed with a full bench, they kept fresh legs on through the second half and refused to give dangerous Sushi House attackers any space whatsoever. Sushi House then lost their top striker Yuki Matsumoto to injury, and Earls weathered the attack.
Williams was beaming after the game.
“It’s a great feeling and great strike. It was just sitting there, so I hit it. I haven’t scored many goals this year, so it’s good to get two, and the win, of course,” Willliams said. “It’s always tough against Sushi House. They always give us a good game. They are one of the main rivals.”
Williams said Earls did its best to suffocate the Sushi House attack in the second half.
“It was tight. The difference was we passed the ball a lot. The idea was to get tight to them. When they get wide, they’re dangerous. We knew they were going to push at the end so we knew we had to stay dedicated. If we stuck to the man, we’d be OK,” Williams said.
